Looking for New Targeted Therapies for Osteosarcoma

Signaling pathways are groups of molecules in a cell that work together to controlone or more cell functions, such as cell division or cell death. Recent studies have shown that thefibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathway is often abnormally activated in a variety ofhuman tumors. Researchers will explore the role of increased expression of FGF protein moleculesin canine osteosarcoma cells. They will then evaluate the effect of inhibiting the FGF pathway witha targeted drug. Understanding how abnormally activated signaling pathways affect cancer'sdevelopment and how to reverse their effects on tumor progression and chemotherapy resistancewill help in the development of new targeted therapies for dogs with osteosarcoma.